A man accused of abusing his parents is mourning his mother as he fights the criminal charges and the sale of a $1 million piece of property his parents owned.

Norma Gala, 78, died June 25 while residing in a Center Line nursing home. Her funeral was Saturday.

Her son, Eric, is accused of abusing both her and his father, Chester, 93, while they were living at the Flamingo Motel in Fraser, which he operated.

Eric Gala had an autopsy performed by the Oakland County Medical Examiner’s Office, according to his attorney, Tim Barkovic. The Macomb County Medical Examiner’s Office agreed to transfer the case to Oakland, he said.

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“We don’t know why she died,” Barkovic said.

Assistant Macomb County Prosecutor Suzanne Faunce said Norma Gala’s death won’t change the case the prosecution will present at the upcoming trial. Norma was not fit to testify due to mental issues.

“I never intended to call her to the stand,” Faunce said. “We are very sorry for the family. The couple of years has been very difficult for them.”

Chester Gala, who is living in a Warren nursing home, also is not in condition to testify, Faunce said.

Eric Gala has a no-contact order with his father but was granted permission by Judge Edward Servitto to attend his mother’s funeral and be in the presence of his father.

Gala, who is charged with two counts of vulnerable adult abuse, claims he is innocent and is taking his defense to a July 31 trial in Macomb County Circuit Court in Mount Clemens, although it may be delayed pending a hearing Monday.

Police say they found Chester and Norma Gala on Nov. 6 in a room that reeked of feces and urine, and was filled with flies. Dried feces was found on Norma Gala, who was tied to a chair with a nylon strap. Police said the door knobs were removed to prevent the elderly couple from leaving.

The charge is punishable by up to four years in prison. Gala has been free after posting.

A guardian and conservator was appointed for both parents, who owned a home in West Bloomfield Township, property in Florida and their former residence, a parcel in Lake Orion which was approved for sale for $1.01 million in April by Judge Carl Marlinga of Macomb County Probate Court.

But Gala protested the sale and on May 13 filed an appeal in that case, according to court records. The appeals court agreed to hear the case in an expedited manner, ordering legal briefs filed by mid-August.

Chester Gala’s guardian, attorney George Heitmanis, said the proceeds from the sale are needed to pay for his care.

“I need to make sure he has somewhere to live and be cared for,” Heitmanis said. “Nobody’s getting paid.”

He has to decide whether Chester Gala should go on Medicaid, he said.

Meanwhile, two residential properties owned by the family have been cited for blight by government officials.

The West Bloomfield home, which has a market value of $1.2 million, is “in severe disrepair and has deemed a blight and nuisance” by the township, conservator Robert Kirk said in documents.

On the same day his mother died, Gala and his wife, Angela, were sued by Lenox Township in circuit court for alleged blighted conditions at their 27 Mile Road residential parcel that contains their home and seven “outbuildings.”